Claim: Governor of Kano State in Nigeria distributes underwears during rally
Source: Social media accounts
Verdict: False
Researched by Alfa Shaban
In Muslim-dominated Kano State in northern Nigeria, a major issue of discussion currently is around the inappropriateness demonstrated with the display of mock female underwear during a political procession involving the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
On social media, the dominant narrative is that the State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf sanctioned the distribution of the underwear during an event in Kano which hosted Nigeria’s First Lady Oluremi Tinubu.
The footage and images being circulated show some instances where the underwear on display is without any inscription, others however, show the image of the state governor branded on the underwear on display (here, here, here, here, here, here).
This report will investigate whether underwears were displayed at the gathering and whether they were branded with images of the governor.
Fact-check
On April 24, 2026; First Lady Remi Tinubu undertook an official visit to Kano State. She was received by the governor and state officials accompanied by APC partisans in branded attire bearing placards, flags and other party paraphernalia.
Foto Forensics analysis
FactSpace West Africa passed a particular viral image of the underwear with the governor’s image through an image forensics platform. The supposed image captures two women displaying underwear branded with the governor’s image.
Foto Forensics helped ascertain possible manipulation. Error Level Analysis showed that the part of the underwear that had the image of the governor imposed showed a brighter area. This is a sign of manipulation of the said image.
What is Error Level Analysis?
Error Level Analysis (ELA) permits identifying areas within an image that are at different compression levels. With JPEG images, the entire picture should be at roughly the same level. If a section of the image is at a significantly different error level, then it likely indicates a digital modification.
Source of the Viral Content
FactSpace West Africa traced the earliest video and images of the underwear display to April 23 on Facebook. In both cases, none of the displayed items were branded with images of the governor of Kano State.
According to a report by The Daily Trust newspaper, the viral images “were extracted from a viral video featuring supporters of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, popularly known as Gida-Gida TikTokers.”
“In the footage, the group is seen displaying red pants in front of the Kano Government House while chanting songs mocking Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso,” the report added.
Kwankwaso, a former governor and political godfather of the sitting governor leads the Kwankwasiyya group which has Kano State as its base. He recently had a fallout with Governor Abba who ditched the opposition NNPP led by Kwankwaso for the ruling APC.
Ahead of the 2027 elections in the country, Kano is seen as a hotbed with the ruling APC looking to secure re-election for Abba even as Kwankwaso who has now joined the main opposition ADC will push to oust Abba as governor of the State.
Governor disclaims association with underwear display
The claim that the pants were part of a state government sanctioned programme began circulating on Friday, April 24, a day after the First Lady’s visit. The governor at an event over the weekend formally debunked the claim and criticised the action.
“We also just heard what happened. We were going about our normal activities when some group of young women went to the street to display something (referring to the underwear). The governor was not aware of that at the time,” Yusuf said.
“We must condemn this act because it is not in our teachings. It is not Islamic,” he added.
Verdict
The images with the governor’s image embossed on the underwear is manipulated and the display was not sanctioned by the Kano State government.
